Kallo gets biological wastewater treatment plant

At a cost of €12 million and in response to environmental legislation, Lanxess has commissioned a new biological wastewater treatment plant at its site at Kallo, near Antwerp. This has a capacity of 260,000 L/hour and also treats wastewater from two other companies. The site makes rubber chemicals and glass fibres.

In the new plant, different wastewater streams are mixed and sent to aeration tower, where they are fed with activated sludge containing bacteria. The environment is constantly monitored for pH and temperature. At the end, the bacteria are separated and returned to the purification process, the purified water is fed into the River Scheldt.

The project follows on from others around Antwerp in recent years. In 2021 it commissioned a plant to reduce nitrous oxide emissions at Lillo, taking out 150,000 tonnes/year of CO₂ equivalent emissions. A second plant is about to be built that will eliminate another 300,000 tonnes/year.